From all accounts, there was something different about the media session Mets GM Sandy Alderson held with reporters on Wednesday. When the subject turned to spending and payroll and what those two would look like in the future, there wasn’t the typical defensive posture or the always omnipresent vagueness that we’ve become so accustomed to over the years.
Most of all, Sandy exuded a distinct confidence and awareness that’s rarely ever seen when the topic centers around the financial viability of the New York Mets. In many ways I found the totality of his comments at Citi Field and what he said in a couple of interviews shortly after on TV and radio, to be quite profound, prescient and refreshing.
“If the Cespedes signing says anything,” Alderson told reporters on Wednesday, “it’s that there are no possibilities that will be dismissed out of hand strictly for financial reasons.”
And if that wasn’t astounding enough, Sandy Alderson doubled down a few minutes later when asked if this was some bold new era for the franchise. “You mean is the $140 the new $85?” Alderson quipped.
“I don’t think we’re going to be as mindful of the ‘140’ number as most of you in the media. But, in a sense, in terms of order of magnitude, and assuming we continue to play well, we don’t anticipate it going back to those prior levels.”
And if that’s still not enough to fill your Mets coffers. the Mets GM then shifted the conversation to contract extensions – contract extensions mind you – for all of the team’s young pitchers.
“Even if the payroll were to go up, you’re still going to have to make choices. It’s nice that we have some of those choices to make, and we certainly want to be in a position to keep some or all of those pitchers. I don’t mean to say we’re not going to keep them all. I’d love to keep them all. We just have to make sure we’re providing for that as we go forward.”
“Is it realistic? I think it could happen,” Alderson said. “It’s a lot of money and you might have to look at other aspects of your roster. And that’s, of course, where the farm system comes into play as well. I don’t want to foreclose any possibility.” (ESPN NY)
Do our ears deceive us? After all, he’s talking about that same rotation we recently calculated would cost about $500 million or more to keep them all in Flushing when the time comes to pay the piper.
Now there was one final thing Sandy said yesterday that warmed my heart. It was as if he took the words right out of my mouth, or should I say straight from what I twice wrote in the past ten days.
“Sometimes we have a habit — we do in an organization, and fans as well — of thinking about the guys we have now, but thinking more about when we’re going to lose them rather than enjoying the moment. And that moment hopefully lasts two, three, four, five years.”
Take a bow, Sandy… You’ve hit the nail on the head. Now is not the time to worry about what we’re going to do in 2020 as far as keeping the team intact. We’ve got a World Series title or two well within our grasp, and that’s what all of us should be focusing on right now. And that’s all I really care about. The times, they are a changin’.
